Not Listening :: By Daymond Duck

In speeches, interviews, phone calls, conversation, and action the Israelis are sending a very clear message to world leaders that Israel will not allow Iran or the Iranian proxy Hezbollah to build up their forces on Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria.

World leaders would be wise to pay heed to what Israel is saying, but for the most part they are refusing to listen.

For example, in Aug. 2017, Israel’s Prime Min. Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Mr. Netanyahu told Mr. Putin that Israel will bomb Syrian Pres. Bashar Assad’s palace in Damascus, if Iran continues to extend its reach in Syria. In language that is easy for anyone to understand Mr. Netanyahu said Israel’s concerns must be met or Israel will be forced to act.

About that same time, Mr. Netanyahu told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Iran is turning Syria into a military base that can be used to carry out its threats to destroy Israel. Mr. Netanyahu said, “This is something Israel cannot accept. This is something the UN should not accept.”

About two months later, in October 2017, Prime Min. Netanyahu met with Russia’s Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, in Jerusalem. They discussed Iran’s attempt to turn Syria into an Iranian military base. Mr. Netanyahu told Mr. Shoigu, “Iran needs to understand that Israel will not allow this.”

Israel’s Defense Minister, Avigdor Liberman, met with Mr. Shoigu and said, “We simply will not allow Shiite and Iranian entrenchment in Syria. And we will not allow all of Syria to become a forward operating base against the State of Israel. Whoever doesn’t understand that should understand that.”

In October and November 2017, Israel sent a message with several air strikes on Iranian and Hezbollah weapons convoys and bases in Syria.

During that same period of time, on at least two different occasions, Israeli tanks fired warning shots at illegal fortifications in the demilitarized zone on the Golan Heights on the Syrian side of Israel’s border.

In a Nov. 19, 2017 telephone call between French Pres. Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Min. Netanyahu the Israeli Prime Min. told Mr. Macron “from now on, Israel sees Iran’s activities in Syria as a target. We will not hesitate to act, if our security needs require us to do so.”

In a Nov. 21, 2017 telephone call between Russian Pres. Putin and Israeli Prime Min. Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Min. reminded Mr. Putin of Israel’s demand that Iran and Hezbollah stay out of the demilitarized zone on the Golan Heights on the Syrian side of Israel’s border.

In a Nov. 23, 2017 TV Interview, Mohammad Ali Jafari, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said, “Hezbollah must be armed to fight against the enemy of the Lebanese nation which is Israel. Naturally they should have the best weapons to protect Lebanon’s security. This issue is non-negotiable,”

And just recently, on Nov. 26, 2017, it was reported that Israeli Prime Min. Netanyahu sent Syrian Pres. Bashar Assad a message through Russia that Israel will attack military targets in Syria if he lets Iran set up bases there.

This is the bottom line: The Syrian civil war has drastically changed the Middle East. Iran now has more than a dozen facilities and tens of thousands of troops in Syria. Iran controls Hezbollah. Hezbollah controls Lebanon.

Israel is telling the world. The world could be on the brink of a world-changing war and time is running out, but the world is not listening.